Electromagnetic transfer mechanism



Dem & 1949 M. c. YEASTENG ELECTROMAGNETIC TRANSFER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 10, 1946 INVENTOR.

- TORNEYS Dec. 6, 1949 M. c. YEASTING 2,490,725

ELECTROMAGNETIC TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed D60. 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I xx JNVENTOR. Way/70rd C K905 77/79 Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTROMAGNETIQ TRANSFER MECHANISM Maynard C. Yeasting, Elmore, Ohio; assig-nor to Toledo Scale Company, Toledo, Qhim a. corpo ration of New Jersey Application December 10, 1946, serial No. 715,231

6 Claims. (Cl. 235136) without being subjected to destructive forces. In

some devices it is desirable that the counter not only be able to indicate the number of revolutions completed, but also that the counter be capable of operation at extremely high speeds.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a counter having an indication that is similar to that of an ordinary intermittent drive counter but that may be operated at extremely high speeds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counter in which the driving effort required in the input to the counter is substantially the same regardless of what numbers or which indicia bearing members are being moved. 7

Another object of theinvention isto utilize electrical energy for positioning the indicia bearing members of a high speed counter.

These and other objects and advantages are apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in a counter in which a higher order indicia bearing member is driven from a lower order indicia bearing member by a gear train that includes a lost motion connection and in which magnetic means are employed to position the higher order indicia bearing member Within the travel allowed by the lost motion connection.

A high speed counter embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure I is a perspective View, with parts broken away, of the improved counter.

Figure II is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the axis of the counter with parts shown in section and other parts shown in eievation.

Figure III is a transverse section taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Figure II.

Figure IV is a transverse section taken substantially along the line IVIV of Figure II.

Figure V is a schematic wiring diagram illus trating the operation of the device.

These specific figures and the accompanying description are intended merely to illustrate the 2 invention but not to limitations on the claims.

The improved counter is enclosed in a housing I having a window? through which indicia a on a piuraiity of counter drums 4, 5, '6 and 1 may be observed. A screen I? located between the wincow 2 and the counter drums ha's'apertures 9 for framing the individual indicia.

The mechanism the improved Counter is mounted between end plates I f! and I l with some of themechanism supported fr m parallel -inter= mediate plates l2, l3 and. The revolutions to be counted are transmitted through an input shaft ii that is journal'ed in abearmg i 5 secured in the'ehd plate' 'l I. A gear H on the inside'end of the input shaft l5 meshes with a gear i 8 on a hub Is that supports the lowest order indioia bearing drum 4. Thehub I 9 turns o'na stationary axle Ml-that is secured tot-he end plates and i I.

The hub 19 extends through a hole 2'! in the intermediate plate l2 and has a gear 2-2 mounted on its end. The gear 22 meshes with a spur gear 23" which, with a pinion 24, i's-rnounted on a stud 25 riveted into the intermediate plate 62. The pinion '24 meshes with a spur gear 26 having a hub2l joiirnaled ona portion of a longer hub 28 that carries a disk 29 on which the second indicia hearing drum 5 is supported. The spur gear 26, the last gear in the gear train between the indicia bearing drums 4 and}, and the disk 29 have radially adjacent pinsw and Si riveted in the gear 2% and the disk 29 respectively. The pin 30 ex= tends through a- Slot 32 in the disk 29 and with the slot- 32 provides a lost motion connection be= tweenthe' gear train and the higher order indicia bearing member. A spring 33 (see also Figure III) has its endsforine' d to engage the pins 36 and 3| to resilientlyhold thinin radial alignment. The pins 36 and ill and the spring 33 provides a resil= ient connection betweenthe gear train and the higher order indicia bearing member.

The gear train and the resilient connection, by themselves, produce continuous motion of the higher order indicia bearing member corresponding to the motion of the lower order indicia bearing' member at a reduced speed determined by the gear ratio of the gear train comprising the gears 22, 23, 24 and 26. However, it is desirable that the higher order indicia bearing member remain stationary while a count is being accum'w lated on a lower order indiciabearing member, and that the higher order member be moved quickly from one position to the we each time the count on the lower order member passes nine; To'provide this intermittent motion the disk 2E! (Figure IV) is made of soft iron and is formed with ten poles or teeth 34. A pair of electromagnets 35 and 36 are mounted from the intermediate plate 12 with their pole faces 31 and 38 adjacent-to and conforming to the we riphery of the higher order indicia bearing member. The spacing between the pole faces 31 or 38 of the magnets 35 or 36 is equal to the pitch of the teeth 34 of the disk 29. The magnets 35 and 36 are located such that when the teeth 34 are aligned with the poles of one magnet they are half way between the poles of the other magnet. By energizing the magnet 35 the disk 29 may be urged into any one of ten equally spaced positions. By energizing the other magnet 36 the disk 29 may be urged into positions spaced half way between the first set of positions.

The magnets 35 and 36 are energized through a commutator 39 that is mounted on the hub l9 oi the lowest order, indicia bearing member 4. Referring to Figures 11 and V the commutator 39 consists of a conducting sleeve 49 that is separated from the hub l9 by an insulating sleeve 4|. Through a portion of its length slightly more than 'a half circumference of the sleeve 49 is cut away and replaced with insulating material 42 so that current supplied through a brush 43 riding on the uncut portion of the sleeve 49 is alternately fed through brushes 44 and 45 to the magnets 35 and 36 respectively. The brushes 44 and 45 bear on the commutator 39 at diametrically opposite points and by making the insulating portion 42 slightly more than a half circumlerence' a small interval elapses when neither of the magnets 35 or 36 is energized. The brushes 43, 44 and 45 are mounted from an insulator block 46 that, in turn, is secured to the intermediate plate l2.

The hub 28 of the second order indicia bearing drum 5 carries a similar commutator 41 that cooperates with brushes 48, 49 and 59 to energize a second set of magnets 5| and 52 that cooperate with a disk 53 of the third order indicia bearing drum 6. Similarly the hub of the third order indicia bearing member 6 carries a commutator 54 that cooperates with brushes 55, 56 and 51 to energize magnets 58 and 59 that cooperate with a disk 69 of the fourth or highest order indicia bearing drum 1.

The gear trains, the lost motion connections, and the resilient connections between the higher order indicia bearing members 5, 6 and I are similar to the corresponding connections between the low order indicia bearing member 4 and the next higher order member 5, therefore detailed description of these parts is not included.

Each of the indicia bearing drums 4, 5, 6 and 1 carries at least two series of indicia running from through 9. Thus the low order indicia bearing member 4 indicates a count of twenty for each complete revolution. Referring to Figure V, the schematic illustration of the commutators shows the commutators 39, 41 and 54 in the positions that they occupy relative to the brushes when the last three digits of the counter indication are fives. In the position shown, current, either alternating or direct, flows through a lead 6| and a branch lead 62 to the brush 43. From the brush 43 current is transmitted through the commutator 39 to the brush 44 and through a lead 63 to the magnet 35. From the magnet 35 current flows through leads 64 and 65 to the other side of the power supply line. Current flowing in the winding of the magnet 35 causes it to align the teeth 34 of the disk 29 with its pole faces 31 and hold the indica bearing drum stationary with one of the indicia fully framed within one of the openings 9 in the shield 8 position behind the window in the housing I. As the units or low order drum 4 advances and reaches 4 a position where the 9 is just passing the window, the commutator disconnects the brush 44 and thus de-energizes the magnet 35. This releases the next order indicia bearing drum so that the resilient connection between the gear train and the drum advances the drum until the pins 30 and EH are in alignment thereby moving the next order indicia bearing member one-half the distance between the indicia. As the lower order member rotates further to display the 0 of the next series of indicia the commutator passes current to the brush 45 and through a lead 66 to the magnet 36. The magnet 36 immediately advances the higher order indicia bearing drum a half step to align the next higher indicia with the opening in the window. Similar transfer actions occur each time a lower order indicia bearing drum makes a half revolution.

The time interval or gap when neither of the magnets 35 or 36 is energized prevents any coni'usion from rising when the lowest order indicia bearing member reads 9 /2. If there were no gap or period when both magnets were de-energized, it would be impossible to be sure whether a next higher indicia bearing memoer had been advanced or not. When there is a gap so that one magnet 18 tie-energized Just as a digit 9 leaves the window and the other magnet is energized as the 0 approaches alignment with the window, there can be no confusion. "when a 9 is indicated the next higher indicia bearing member is out 01' registry so that the lower value indicia appears in the upper part of the window and the higher value indicia in the lower part when the indicia are arranged as shown in Figure 1. This corresponds in appearance to the transfer in an ordinary intermittent motion counter in which as the units drum goes from 9 to 0 the next higher drum goes from one digit to the next so that when a 9% is registered on the lower drum the next drum also indicates a value intermediate two of its indicia.

A similar transfer by half steps occurs after a count of 99 or 999 has been accumulated as the lower order indicia bearing member is advanced one additional step. Under this condition when the counter stands at 999 one set of magnets is energized. When the units drum advances onehalf unit it de-energizes both magnets of the next higher indicia bearing member which allows it to advance a half graduation. This half graduation advance, in turn, de-energizes the magnets of the next higher indicia bearing member so that each of these members indicates 9 A similar advance then occurs for the next higher indicia bearing member. The next half graduation advance of the units member to register a 0 energizes the other magnet of the next higher drum so that that drum advances to register a zero. The advance of that drum in turn energizes the corresponding magnet of the next higher member so that it also advances and, in this manner, the entire transfer is made from a registration of 999 to a registration of 1-000 without permitting any ambiguity at any time as to whether any particular indicia bearing member had been advanced or not.

In the construction of a high speed counter employing electromagnetic means for aligning the respective indicia bearing members and producing intermittent transfer, it is necessary to use two or more series of indicia on each of the counter indicating drums. the drawings two such series of indicia are shown In the example shown in on each drum and two magnets are used with the next higher indicia bearing drum. If more than two series of indicia are used the number of mag nets cooperating with the next higher drum is also increased in the same ratio. All that is necessary is that there be one magnet cooperating with the next higher indicia bearing member for each series of indicia on the lower member and that the .current be fed to the magnets successively as each of the lower order series of indicia successively pass the viewing window.

When this counter is operating at high speeds the inertia of the higher order indicia bearing drums and the inductance of the magnets prevents the magnets from drawing the higher order indicia bearing members into registration and thus produce intermittent motion. This is immaterial because any failure of the magnets to produce the intermittent motion merely allows the counter to operate as a direct gear drive with uniform continuous motion in all of its parts. There are no intermittent motion gear trains involved and, consequently, no possibility for inertia forces of destructive magnitude to be produced. Since the magnets are used to align the indicia bearing members when the counter is to be read and are not essential to producing the transfer it is also practical to arrange the electrical circuits such that the magnets of the counter is not energized while the machine is running, but are energized as soon as the machine is stopped. In such an arrangement the higher order indicia bearing drums would continuously advance at their respective speeds and then would be drawn into alignment as soon as the magnets are energized when the machine is stopped.

The improved counter provides operation similar to direct gear drive when it is operated at higher speeds and operates as an intermittently driven counter when it is operated at low speeds. Because it is free of positive intermittent motion it may be operated at any speed at which gears may be operated and thus has a practically unlimited speed range. Another feature of this counter is the provision that the energy for producing intermittent transfer is taken from a separate power source and, therefore, the input torque required to drive the counter is practically independent of the count accumulated on the counter. In contrast an ordinary intermittent counter requires much greater input torque when it is going from 999 to 1000 than when it is merely advancing the units drum one count.

Various modifications in the structure may be made to accommodate the improved counter to various uses. Such modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a lower order indicia bearing member, a higher order indicia bearing member, gearing connecting said members, said gearing having backlash substantially equal to the spacing of indicia on the higher order member, a series of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, at least two electromagnets arranged to successively act on the teeth, and a commutator driven by the lower order member for successively energizing the electromagnets to cause the electromagnets to intermittently drive the higher order member within the limits set by the backlash in the gearing.

.2. In a device of the class described, in com-- bination, a lower order indicia bearing member having more than one series of indicia, a higher order indicia bearing member, a plurality of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, there being one tooth for each unit of one of said series of indicia, a plurality of electromagnets arranged to act successively on the teeth, there being one magnet for each series of indicia on the lower order member, a commutator on the lower order member for successively energizing the magnets to intermittently move the higher order member, and gearing that has lost motion for connecting said members to prevent loss of synchronism between said members.

3. In a device of the class described, in combination, a lower order indicia bearing member, a higher order indicia bearing member, a speed reducing gear train driven by the lower order member, a resilient connection between the gear train and the higher order member, a lost motion connection between the gear train and the higher order member for limiting the deflection of the resilient connection, a plurality of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, a plurality of electromagnets cooperating with the teeth, and a commutator driven by the lower order member for successively energizing the electromagnets, whereby the higher order member is electromagnetically restrained to intermittent motion while it is urged to uniform motion by the resilient connection and gear train.

4. In a device of the class described, in combination, a lower order indicia bearing member, a higher order indicia bearing member, a speed reducing gear train driven by the lower order member, a resilient connection between the gear train and the higher order member, a lost motion connection between the gear train and the higher order member for limiting the deflection of the resilient connection, a plurality of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, a plurality of electromagnets cooperating with the teeth, and a commutator that is driven by the lower order member and that has insulating and conductive segments of unequal length for successively energizing the electromagnets, said differences in lengths of the segments requiring that the lower order member move an appreciable distance between the de-energization of one electromagnet and the energization of the next electrom'agnet.

5. In a device of the class described, in combination, a lower order indicia bearing member, a higher order indicia bearing member, a speed reducing gear train driven by the lower order member, a resilient connection between the gear train and the higher order member, a plurality of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, a plurality of electromagnets cooperating with the teeth, and a commutator driven by the lower order member for successively energizing the electromagnets, whereby the higher order member is electromagnetically restrained to intermittent motion while it is urged to uniform motion by the resilient connection and gear train.

6. In a device of the class described, in combination, a lower order indicia bearing member, a higher order indicia bearing member, a speed reducing gear train driven by the lower order member, a resilient connection between the gear train and the higher order member, a plurality of magnetizable teeth on the higher order member, a plurality of electromagnets cooperating with the teeth, and a commutator driven by the lower order member for successively energizing 7 8 the electromagnets, said commutator having segments of unequal length such that the lower order UNITED STATES PATENTS member must move an appreciable distance be- Number Name Date tween the de-energization of one electromagnet 1,128,679 Gooch Feb. 16, 1915 and the energization of the next electromagnet. 5 2,020,975 Turck Nov. 12, 1935 MAYNARD C. YEASTING. 2,1 ,969 Bryce May 2, 1939 2,336,307 Slye Dec. 7, 1943 REFERENCES CITED 2,416,081 Bakke Feb. 18, 1947 2,420,607 Mendelsohn May 13, 1947 The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 10 

